‘Dreams or nightmares? Madness or sanity? I don’t know which is which...’
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is a wonderful title for a horror film, and as such, it is a film that I’ve always been interested in. Despite receiving decidedly lukewarm reviews upon release, it has since been reappraised in some quarters and appears in numerous top 100 horror movie lists. While that level of praise is probably unearned, there is enough here to ensure that John D. Hancock’s film is worth seeking out for any horror completists. Just don’t expect to be scared to death…
Jessica (Zohra Lampert) is a recent outpatient of a mental health facility who is taken by her husband to a haunted country house in order to recover. Top husbanding there from Barton Heyman’s Duncan. Upon arrival, Jessica, Duncan and their wonderfully moustachioed friend Woody (Kevin O’ Connor) encounter a mysterious girl (Gretchen Corbett) whose intentions seem murky at best. Is Jessica mad? Or is there actually a watery figure living in the lake?
Hancock does a good job in creating an ominous atmosphere and building tension. The acting is workmanlike but strangely appealing in that weird 70s way with Zohra Lampert in the titular role being the only player to really impress.
Clearly inspired by The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death suffers from a lack of originality in terms of plotting, but the enigmatic mood of the piece ensures that it does at least stand out from most of its peers.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is more than just a great title, but at the same time, there are many superior films in this genre and this one falls somewhere in the slightly above average level of filmmaking.